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The hidden mental-health crisis in America’s jails · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, June 5th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, the growing problem in America's jails that has both law enforcement and defense attorneys outraged, NBA stars explain the art of the pre-game nap, and how to cover the news in Antarctica.
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  But first, let's take a quick look at some of the major stories in the news.
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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the military is now ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive. In an extensive interview with "The Wall Street Journal," he warns that the operation could take a long time. Zelenskyy says he would prefer to have more weapons to counter Russian air power, but he isn't willing to wait for months to attack. Early today, Russia said its forces held off a major Ukrainian attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Moscow's claims couldn't be immediately verified. And it's not clear whether this may be part of the expected offensive by Ukraine.
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  In India, some train service is back underway in the eastern state of Odisha, where nearly 300 people were killed when three trains collided on Friday. It was the deadliest rail crash in the country in more than two decades. Investigators are looking into whether a signal failure led to the multi-train collision.
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  And in the DC area, people heard and felt something scary over the weekend.
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  A sonic boom rattled homes across the region yesterday. It came from F-16 jets, which were sent to intercept a small plane that didn't respond to questions from air-traffic control. The U.S. Capitol was briefly on heightened alert. The plane later crashed in Virginia. No survivors were found. "The Washington Post" spoke to the owner of the company the plane was registered to. He said the plane was carrying his daughter, a grandchild and her nanny.
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  There's a growing problem in America's jails. Mentally ill people accused of crimes are locked up for long periods while they wait for treatment. The problem is that state mental hospitals have no room for them. Some wind up spending more time waiting in jail than the potential sentences for the crimes they're charged with. It's a national issue that has mental-health advocates, law enforcement, defense attorneys and prosecutors all frustrated. Dan Frosch is one of "The Wall Street Journal" reporters on the story.
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  Dan Frosch: Jail is not a healthy place for somebody who is in perfect condition, let alone somebody who is suffering from mental illness.
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  He told us about Erin Brown, who's incarcerated in Colorado.
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  Frosch: She came from a good family, and in her best moments was a talented artist and chef and had a good relationship with her mother who had long tried to help her get treatment.
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  Erin has schizoaffective disorder and substance addiction. A judge ordered her to receive inpatient psychiatric treatment before facing charges for breaking into her mother's home. But the state has no open beds.
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  Frosch: Her mother has watched, helplessly really, as Erin's mental health condition has worsened over the six or seven months she's been waiting in jail.
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  Experts say this is common. Confinement, and the presence of law enforcement, can intensify vulnerable people's mental-health problems. And data shows things are getting worse nationally. "The Journal" asked all 50 states about people waiting in jail for inpatient treatment. Nearly all of the states that provided data have longer wait lists now than they did before the pandemic. Many tripled or even quadrupled.
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  The Miami Heat beat the Denver Nuggets last night to tie up the NBA Finals series 1-1. Game three is Wednesday night. And on Wednesday during the day, it's likely that a lot of the players will be taking their strategic pre-game naps.
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  "GQ" goes in-depth on the art of the basketball nap, talking to several star players about how they manage to get enough sleep in the right way, at the right time. It's a fun story because it speaks to all these super-tall, super-tough athletes, and it turns out they have lots of thoughts on how to optimize their game through napping. But it's not easy, with night games, long flights and all the time spent away from home. And even for non-athletes, there are some pretty good tips in here that could help anyone looking to become a more efficient napper, especially if you're traveling and trying to get over jet lag.
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  Controlling light is key. Pitch black is how Wendell Carter Jr. of the Orlando Magic says he needs a room. He has heavy duty blackout curtains at home. The team's practice facility also has a specialized nap room. But on the road, it's trickier, since hotel curtains often don't close all the way, leaving that annoying little sliver of sunlight.
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  Sacramento Kings player Domantas Sabonis has all kinds of "MacGyver" workarounds for that problem. One pretty smart trick: Use the clips from closet hangers to hold the curtains together.
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  Other tips? Most NBA pros prefer a cold room. Experiment with whether you nap better with silence or some kind of white noise app. And don't nap too long or else you'll be groggy. Or worse, you'll miss the team bus. Coaches know what's up with nap time, so they have rules in place: Players who oversleep get hit with fines.
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  We have got a lot of love and respect for exceptional local reporting here at Apple News, which is why a story from "Esquire" caught our eye. It's about a one-person newsroom in a rural community, in a very unusual place. The paper is called "The Antarctic Sun," and the one journalist, Lauren Lipuma, writes it largely on her own.
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  Antarctica is a cold and isolated place, with dangerous conditions. But it's also a beautiful landscape, where breakthrough science happens. For Lipuma, a longtime science writer, running the paper there sounded like a dream job. So, as soon as the position opened up, she jumped on the opportunity.
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  The U.S. agency managing scientific research in Antarctica funds the paper, so a lot of the coverage focuses on the studies done there. But there's also opportunity to tell quirky stories about the small community that lives there. There's a section called "Life on the Ice," which looks at all the ways people pass the time and form a community in an isolated place. Like when locals put on an edition of the "Nutcracker" ballet with an Antarctic twist. Or the annual music fest, called Icestock.
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  It's an unusual job in a strange place, but somebody's gotta do it. Hey, maybe you? Lipuma says she's loved her time there, but she's stepping down as editor, and her replacement hasn't yet been announced.
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  You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, don't go anywhere.
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  We've got a narrated article coming up next from "Popular Mechanics." It's about a Florida community that's building specialized homes designed to withstand hurricanes.
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  That's cued up to play for you next, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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